Reselling Items Allowed?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussion' started by RednaxDlevennoz, Sep 25, 2014.

  1. It depends on the margin and needed time. If you make under 5k per hour than you're losing your time, because you can make much more by mining / farming.

    Very true - if the shop is selling more than just few specific items this would be practically impossible.

    This brings in an interesting new aspect (for me).

    I think I can recognize quite reliably if a shop is meant to sell / exchange goods or to just "play shop" - so I acted accordingly. When possible, I tried to help the not yet experienced players to learn the basics of shop keeping on EMC. Many people ask me to check their shops and to give them advices about various aspects.

    But until now, I did not think about "making a shop in order to make friends."
    (I'm glad that we do discuss here at this level of sensibility and tactfulness towards (young) playmates. This is good!)

    What first comes to mind is, when I see a shop that looks like a shop, walks like a shop and quacks like a shop - I'd rather want to assume that it is meant to be a shop and use it like a shop without the need to ask the owner how they feel about buying or selling from/to it.
    So, for me, it would be best if the shop owners could leave some hint about what kind of shop it is. Like Anon did. :)

    ... or "choose" from a wide spectrum of other reasonable and not so reasonable emotions - but where would the limit be?

    Apropos ...
  2. I did this back in the good old days. Made my first 250k before i was 70 days old on the server. Feels good maaaaane
  3. I did learn from my mistake, I now price check other stores, and as I said in my original post only stock 7 of each diamond item, though I may change that to 4. My prices have gone way up but I'm still making sales so apparently my strategy is working. I also have a message sign, asking people to message me if they need to buy in bulk, and not to buy out my shop stock.
    Silken_thread likes this.
  4. I know I already stated one opinion in this thread, but that involved the issue of (ab)using / profiting from a mistake made by one single shopkeeper.

    In the mean time I've been busy building my own shop, which is nearly ready, and while determining prices for my products I immediately remembered this thread. SO yeah, I'd like to comment based on the experience I have so far (I'm proud to share that even though my shop ("ShellShop's attic sale") isn't officially open it's already being used).

    I know I'm late to the party, but better late than never, right?
    It has already been determined that this is allowed, and several fellow shop-keepers have given their opinion on the matter itself. So now I'd like to do the same...

    If this would happen to me, in my "ShellShop", then I'd say "thank you for your business and I hope to see you again sometimes". No repercussions against the buyer what. so. ever..

    I have a very outspoken opinion on this, please keep in mind that this is my opinion only. I'm not judging nor criticizing.

    The thing is; if I wanted to make a quick solid rupee then I should pick up my stuff, find myself a good shop which also buys items and then sell my products to them. I don't. Why? Two reasons: first and foremost because I actually enjoy maintaining my shop. Its fun to suddenly discover "yikes, I ran out and need more stock!"; gets you something new to do.

    But the other: I want money! I could sell my $product for (fictional example) 95r to $shop but that's not good enough for me. Nuuuu; I'm going to make a shop and try to sell my stuff for 145r instead!

    In other words: I chose to offer my products for a price which will make me some extra cash. Because "I want it all, I want it all, I want it all; and I want it now!" (quote Queen, sorry ;)). More seriously: I'm too lazy to look for a good shop myself, and even if I found one then I want to sell for the price I can buy it from them.

    So yeah... If I sell for a price where I make money, who am I to tell others that they can't make more money from me by re-selling my stuff?

    My honest opinion on this matter: if I wanted that better deal so desperately then I should have raised my prices or have looked for that other shop myself.

    I chose not too, so I think I should be content with the amount of rupees which I got from the deal.

    So yeah; no "silly" hidden rules like that in my shop. My shop is there to be used, and when you do; thank you for your business.
    kyukyu99, Silken_thread, 607 and 2 others like this.
  5. I have a small shop and selling some item cheaper than the others and selling some items more expensive than the others.
    I really don't mind bulk buy cuz I know I'm selling them cheaper and I don't really care if they are making money buying from me and selling it to the another. I know where buying diamond in good pricing, I'm glad if new customer finds it and keep coming my shop and I think that's one of the playing styles in EMC (fun to be interested in Economy and business XD) (and if I care, I go sell my stuff to ppl instead of having my shop)
    However, I don't like my shop being out of stock all the time and ppl think my shop is not in stock all the time because of that so I started controlling my stock amount by myself so more ppl get chance to buy one :) (ex. 5 diamonds per log in or a day, adding another 5 after mining)

    good luck with your business ! :D if you have time, check my shop at 11229 smp5 too :p
    607, Silken_thread and ShelLuser like this.
  6. Let me begin by saying that I am posting here again because I like discussing things and reading all sides and opinions so don't think I am trying to "stir the pot" so to speak. The two people quoted above touch briefly on what I am saying. If I wanted rupees I would sell directly to one of the huge Mega-Malls on one of the 10 servers available. That is not what I want. For me the economy is a mini-game within EMC. I enjoy making sales to people that need items. I rarely buy anything from Mega Malls, I always try to go to the wastes and Mine what I want or I grow it in town or better yet raid a dungeon or two, or use public farms, or buy from small shops. I also have a frontier base that I spend time at. I have all the promo Items issued since I joined in 2013 in my vault and have no intention of using or selling them. I have close to 900,000 Rupees and don't need them. (No I will not give them to you :p.) I would rather get 100r from 10 people than 1000r from 1. So, I don't want the Sam Walton of EMC coming in and buying out all my stock just so everyone will go to him when they need something. It's not about Rupee's! I don't want to spend hours mining, or chopping tree's to supply somebody else's shop. Do the work yourself and let the small shops have what few customers we get, or better yet PM them and ask them to be a supplier. I can supply a few things at a discount. I even have some stuff that I will auction here very shortly because I'm over stocked.
    kyukyu99 and ShelLuser like this.
  7. If you want to have complete, or nearly complete, control over your shop, have a door and open it when you're online only. If you want even more control, and more interaction, don't use shops at all and just do it on a per-customer basis. If that's what you want, it's definitely within reach.

    If you price items as the cheapest in the market, and keep a shop open 24/7, why should someone shop elsewhere? The only reason is because they don't know about your shop. Therefore, once people know about your shop, you are accepting to supply the entire server and anyone from any other server, with that item, until you are out of stock. I don't understand why you believe or expect that nobody will ever take advantage of that.

    I also don't understand why you price the cheapest. That only attracts Sam Waltons. Anyone who just needs a few of an item will pay a fair price. If they're looking for the best deal, they're not going to be loyal to your shop. They will go to the next cheapest shop when it comes around. If they are low on money, they can help you stock other items.

    So therefore, I would say, price your items competitively but not substantially below mega malls. Get a fair price that is cheaper than the sell price of mega malls, but higher or equal to the buy price. Anyone who is not Sam Walton will be willing to pay that fair price for a few of the item. Anyone who's not, is looking for the best deal and not going to be a loyal customer when a better deal comes around. You can still offer better deals on a customer by customer basis, and built real customer relationships that way. And that's just my opinion.
    ShelLuser likes this.
  8. Good advice, I'm not installing a door, nor am I turning the lights out at night. lol. I've definitely updated my prices though. Which brings me to questions about your web site... Is there a thread for questions or will a PM do?
  9. PM will work fine if you want an individual response. There's also a thread here.
  10. most smart shopkeepers have safeguards in place for this. like filling their chest with a row or two of dirt or selling/buying uneven amounts, or in my case i just keep a low amount of rupees on hand. if they dont then tbh its kind of their own fault
  11. yes and you can also resell things irl
  12. I now limit how much inventory I keep in certain chests, and limit the amount of items I can be sold at one time. If nothing else it creates a use for all that dirt I dug out of my res. The success of my shop actually took me by surprise and that's how this problem originated. I did not have my shop tagged +shop. Until someone suggested it, then the fit hit the shan and I had to play catch up. I must say that trying to keep up with demand has created the necessity to learn newer and more efficient ways of doing things and oddly enough has made the game a little more interesting.
    bitemenow15 likes this.
  13. I wonder if you could make more now? with people whining about reselling so much it might be hard to keep it going but at the same time prices have inflated, which would mean possibility of more profit.. but perhaps at more risk? Not sure but I do know i have been here for about a month now and mostly have mined/farmed and have made more than 250k. I have been working on several projects including an outpost and mall so I don't hold that kind of liquid capital at the moment, however.
  14. When I made 250k it was liquid capital. I did have a lot of other valuable stuff too but I wasn't counting it.
    Gawadrolt likes this.